Emmetts Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Brewed by Emmetts Tavern and Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
West Dundee, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter

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On tap at Emmett’s (West Dundee) served in a snifter. Jet black. Small, light-brown head is mostly diminishing down to a medium-sized ring. Strong whiskey notes in the aroma, with sweet chocolate, caramel and oak. Strong chocolate flavor, with whiskey, gooey marshmallows, and alcohol. Roasted, burnt nuts and bittersweet chocolate finish. A touch too thin, but this stuff tastes just too damn good to fault it too much. Liquid heaven. Rush out to find this!

Draft @ FoBAB 2009, Chicago, IL. Pours a dark brown almost black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty dark chocolate and bourbon aroma. Sweetish roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor with some hints of bourbon. Has a sweetish roasted malty dark chocolate finish with hints of bourbon and vanilla in the aftertaste.

UPDATED: JUL 21, 2010 2006 Vintage - bottle 140/254. Opaque brown with a thin cocoa colored head, viscous lacing. Strong devils food cake aroma with evident woody barrel character. Very full rich aroma. Smoky char flavor, nutty brown sugar, and barrel characteristics all mingle in a flavor that is complex and nice but not overwhelming. Palate is a bit oily and thin. Rating for second bottle sampled July 2010: Bottle. Aroma is potent, dry, and redolent of oak and whisky. Opaque dark brown with just a wisp of tan head and a thin line that clings to the edge of the glass. Flat, super bitter roast with an acidic oaky note. A nice sipper. 7 4 8 3 Overall it seems the aroma suffered slightly in aging, but the flavor held up and perhaps slightly improved.

On tap at FoBAB 5. Poured black with a light ring and a dusting of deep brown head. The aroma picked up roasted darker chocolates with a very sweet bourbon presence.. a lot of barrel character, and fairly well-integrated. The flavor picked up sweet bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate at the core with even more bourbon and vanilla toward the finish.. full, malty, and quite tasty. Heavier-bodied with a nice, sweet barrel influence.. moderate roast worked as well.. fairly complex with a toasty, boozy finish. This was good, but came nowhere near the non-BA stuff.

Bottle #65 (out of 274) from a special bottling done by the Emmett’s folk in the Winter of 2006: This pours out of the bottle like dark brown motor oil. The "head" is merely some big bubbles that might actually have been caused by the pouring. Eventually, a thin tan ring appears around the glass. The aroma is dark roasted malt, Bourbon, aniseed, abd alcohol. The flavor is more complex having the additions of molasses, burnt brown sugar, bittersweet chocolate, and coffee grounds. Nicely blended. I should have bought two bottles.

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Impenetrable ebony pour with no visible head or carbonation. The nose was intensley roasted malt. Sweet coffee, espresso, brown sugar, molasses and bourbon are all there. The mouthfeel seemed pretty light for an imperial, I think.

#909

On tap at the 4th anual Festival of Wood and barrel Aged Beer festival at GI Wriglyville Nov 4th, 2006.

Now when I found out that Emmett’s, one of my favourite breweries around Chicago, was going to be at the FOBAB I was hoping that they would bring this. To make a long story short I was out of town when this was released in December 2005 and showed up at the pub in West Dundee about 6 hours or so after it went dry. To say the least I was crushed. But was relieved to hear that they had some left over that they were going to release at a later date. This was it.

Totally black with no head. Almost looked like syrup with no carbonaton. The nose had lots and lots of bourbon with just a hint of vanilla. The taste was flat, almost excessively sweet, some hints of chocolate but mostly alcohol vapors and bourbon just a hint of vanilla. Too one directional and flat. This had to have been better when it was first released. And if they plan on doing this again I will be there to re-rate.

i like these guys so i feel bad trashing this, but... sampled at barrel-aged brewfest. pitch black, small dissipating head. some bourbon. taste is very empty. watered-down, some tacky artificial bourbon flavor. so watery. disappointing.

On tap: Aroma of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and light bourbon. Dark brown with no transparency and a minimal beige ring for a head. Chocolate and vanilla up front with some mild coffee in the background. Coffee increases in the finish with moderate bourbon that is a little hot and a little overdone.

Draft: Ebony with chestnut hues. Puffy light chocolate foam. Lovely nose of black chocolate soaking in bourbon. Hints of shredded coconut, gritty fudge, and toffee. Peak condition with silky, velvety soft carbonation. Soft flavors of vanilla and coconut cushions the sharp tannic bite. Flavorsome blend of charred wood adds immediate dryness with an accompaniment of deep pie crust and burnt malt. Immense oak dryness prevails throughout, absorbing the perfect level of bourbon sweetness. Fluffy malt center pillars the firm dryness. Harsh, soil-laden finish shows a decadent blend of matchsticks and espresso chased with a delayed culmination of burnt chocolate and toasted oak. Are you kidding? A bourbon-aged brew which, for once, shows some restraint? This is what wood-aged Imperial Stout is all about. Lots of toasty oak flavors, tannins, and, overall, more bourbon cask nuances than sugary bourbon sweetness and alcohol prominence, which seemingly pervades 99% of others of its ilk. Absolutely wonderful.